🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Nurses
What OET or IELTS score do nurses need for NMC registration?
The NMC asks for OET grade B in listening, reading and speaking and C+ in writing, or IELTS Academic 7.0 in listening, reading and speaking and 6.5 in writing.
Checked 23 Oct 2026 · NMC ↗
Minimum score in each part
| OET | IELTS Academic | |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | B | 7.0 |
| Reading | B | 7.0 |
| Writing | C+ | 6.5 |
| Speaking | B | 7.0 |
Good to know
- Can I combine results from different sittings?
- Yes. Scores from two sittings of the same test (IELTS with IELTS, OET with OET) may be combined when the test dates are within 12 months of each other and both are within two years of the application being assessed; one required pass score is needed in each of the four domains across the two sittings. Every score in both sittings must be at least C+ (C in writing) in OET, or 6.5 (6.0 in writing) in IELTS.
- How old can my result be?
- A result is valid for 24 months.
- Do I need a test if I studied nursing in English?
- Your English is accepted without a test when the pre-registration programme was taught and examined in English in a majority-English-speaking country, or after one year of recent practice in a majority-English-speaking country. India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Pakistan and Egypt are not on the NMC's list of those countries.
What to do next
Tell us your scores and where you trained, and we show which of the NMC's steps you have left, with each fee and how long it takes.
Sources
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